Alvin Smith

Alvin Smith (11 February 1798-19 November 1823) was the eldest brother of Joseph Smith, the founder of the LDS Church.

Biography
Alvin Smith was born in Tunbridge, Vermont in 1798, the first surviving child of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith. During his youth, he worked as a carpenter's helper to assist the family with making a down payment for a farm near Palmyra, New York, and he took the lead in building the family's new home in 1823. That year, he died of mercury poisoning from calomel, which had been administered to him to cure his abdominal pain. His younger brother Joseph Smith later had a vision of Alvin which played a significant role in the development of the Mormon doctrines of redemption of those who die without knowledge of the gospel and baptism of the dead.